Flyers finally reward Steve Mason in shutout

Flyers finally reward Steve Mason in shutout

OTTAWA -- Steve Mason should have had his first Flyers shutout in Carolina back on Nov. 5. He lost it in the final minute of regulation, then lost the game in overtime.

It burned him. He was angry. He kept his tongue and backed his team.

Tuesday at Canadian Tire Centre, his teammates made it up for Mason with a 5-0 shelling of the Senators in which Mason had 24 saves (see Instant Replay).

It was the first time the Flyers shut out Ottawa in the regular season since Jan. 18, 1999, also a 5-0 win in which John Vanbiesbrouck made 36 saves.

“Everything came together,” Mason said. “This was an extremely sound effort all around. From a defensive standpoint, we didn’t give [much] up.

“Guys were really pressing on the backcheck to make sure they were taking away rush opportunities. This is a good game to have going into tomorrow night [against Pittsburgh].”

Mason has not given up more than three goals in a game in 20 games as a Flyer since joining the team late last season.

Mason said he would feel fine playing back-to-back on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. He got a break as Ottawa had one goal denied on review (stick above the bar).

“I was disappointed to lose the one in Carolina,” Mason said. “When you continue to work hard and the team comes around, these opportunities are going to come around again. We just have to make sure to close it out.

“There’s nights when goaltenders earn a shutout and do a lot of the work. But tonight was a complete team effort. We worked hard for this win.”

They backed him with five goals (see story), including a season-high two power-play goals in one game. Claude Giroux’s line was dominant with a pair of goals and five points along with 13 shots generated from those three players.

Giroux said it felt good to reward Mason, who has been the Flyers' best player since the beginning of the season. He’s given them a chance to earn a point every game but one -- the Washington blowout.

“A lot of times, he should have gotten shutouts,” Giroux said. “He’s a really good goalie. Since he got traded here, he has unbelievable latitude. In practices and games, he’s the one working the hardest.

“When you see your goalie working hard like that, when you only score two goals and your goalie is behind you like that and still pushing you and telling you it’s going to come, he wasn’t getting [ticked] at us. You want to play hard for him.”

"I think anybody who knows me or who has played with or against me along the road here, knows that I am not that kind of player," Manning said, according to a statement released by the Flyers. "I am not out there intentionally trying to hurt people. I'm a guy who plays the game hard and I take pride in that."

Gretzky didn't mind seeing that fire in McDavid, saying competitiveness is part of what makes the great ones great. And he said the targeting comes with the territory of being a superstar. It was something he and Mario Lemieux dealt with, too.

"And Connor, he's going to get tested every night, but this is not new for him," Gretzky said Friday at the NHL board of governors meetings. "He's been tested since he was a kid and then playing junior hockey and now in the NHL and he's always responded and done his part."

"Raf has this stutter step that's undercover speedy," goalie Steve Mason said. "He used it in Nashville to get a big goal and then here tonight.

"It looks like he's going to stop fully up, but he finds another gear and he really adds another element to that line that brings physical play.

"He has that sneaky talent, too, that can make you pay."

Raffl received a bank pass off the wall from Jakub Voracek, stutter stepped and then blew by Oilers defenseman Oscar Klefbom, protecting the puck along the way before flipping it over goalie Jonas Gustavsson for the game-winning marker with 1:29 left in the game.

It was his sixth goal of the season and his second game-winner in three games.

"Jakey has been hard on me for three years now," Raffl said, referring to Voracek's pass, "and it's actually the first time it worked out.

"He wants me to make that play all the time. He's been hard on me. I threw a little fake in there, got around their D-man and chipped it up high."

Voracek, who tied a career high with four points (one goal, three assists) said after the game his pass was not as perfect as it appeared on tape, as it didn't hit Raffl in stride.

"I think we should use it a little bit more to be honest," Voracek said, "because if their D wants to have a gap on that, you know you put it off the boards, it's tough to handle for the defenseman. [Raffl] had to slow down a little bit, so next time I've got to put it better."

Juggling his lines in an attempt to find chemistry, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol moved Raffl up from the third line to the top line with Voracek and captain Claude Giroux on Nov. 27. Coincidentally, that was the start of this seven-game winning streak.

On Thursday night, Raffl showcased the reasoning behind the move to the top line, a spot he's familiar with, having played with Giroux and Voracek in seasons' past.

"He's good from coming off either way as he enters the zone," Hakstol said. "He's got the ability to take it to the net.

"Obviously at a critical time of the hockey game. But, that's Raffl when he's at his best. He's a power forward that can do those type of things offensively."

In his fourth season with the Flyers, the 28-year-old doesn't possess jaw-dropping skill. He's better suited for a third-line role, but drives play at 5-on-5 and is strong on the puck to move up into the top six. His style complements Giroux and Voracek's game well.

"[Raffl] complains a lot on the bench," Giroux quipped. "Nah, he was fired up there in the third. He is so strong on the puck. That's a big goal for us. He's been playing some great hockey right now for us. I think me and Jake are lucky to play with him right now."

"He does every little thing right," Voracek said. "He wins the battles. He wins so many puck battles in the corners and on the boards and gives me and G a lot of space to work with. He knows what to do to have success with us and he's been doing that."

Against the Oilers, Raffl was one of two European free agents the Flyers found to contribute to their win, with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare slowing down Connor McDavid.

It's been an avenue the Flyers have found some success in recent years. Raffl was a Paul Holmgren signing, while general manager Ron Hextall plucked Bellemare from the SHL.

"Since we signed him, I think he surprised everyone," Voracek said of Raffl. "He's got a lot of talent. He's a strong guy on the puck. He's skating well. He's got a great shot.

"I think he's one of the good players."

The Flyers described Raffl as a sneaky talent, someone who may not demand the respect from defensemen but has the ability to surprise and make them pay for playing lax against him.

But it's really simpler than that, according to Raffl.

"Just puck possession," he said. "Just focus on being the first on forecheck, digging out pucks. It's not a fun job to do, but somebody has to do it.

"They're two great players with the puck, I try to dig it out and get it to them and get in an open area and they'll find me eventually."